PHILADELPHIA - Durabla Manufacturing, a Pennsylvania company that made sealing products, collapsed under the weight of 108,000 asbestos suits.

U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno of Philadelphia, responsible for asbestos claims nationwide, received notice on April 12 of Durabla's bankruptcy.

Asbestos litigation has bankrupted 89 companies in 28 years, according to the Crowell Moring firm in Washington. Among the earliest was Johns-Manville in 1982; and among the latest was General Motors last year.

Durabla received its first asbestos claim in 1980, Mark Eckard of Wilmington wrote for owner David Moser on Jan. 7.

Primary coverage of $8.5 million lasted until 2002, Eckard wrote, paying 16,017 claims at an average of $531.

Durabla had closed about 62,000 cases without payment by then, he wrote, but about 79,000 cases remained open between 2002 and 2009.

Durabla showed a profit in 2002, he wrote, and retained earnings of $1,113,555.

It showed a profit three of the next four years, he wrote, but sales didn't cover overhead and Durabla ceased operation in 2007.

It has spent cash and marketed securities to wind up its affairs, defend litigation and protect insurance coverage, he wrote.

As of last June 30, he wrote, it had $318,847 in cash and $1.5 million in coverage.

Eckard represents Moser, who is being sued personally over asbestos claims.

Moser started an adversary proceeding in bankruptcy court, seeking a declaration that he wouldn't have to defend asbestos suits individually.

Eckard wrote that as Durabla exhausted coverage in 2008, claimants started suing Moser and two companies as alter egos.

Durabla lawyer Chad Toms of Wilmington did not submit a list of creditors to bankruptcy court, instead identifying 20 firms with the most plaintiffs.

Weitz and Luxenberg, of New York City, leads the group with 33,649 plaintiffs.